World gathers at UN, but stymies UN’s role in tax and transparency

May 24th, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

As negotiators met in New York to discuss how to pay for development, new agreements on curbing illicit financial flows were worryingly absent

NEW YORK—Government negotiators, members of civil society and the private sector met in New York this week to follow up on the United Nation’s Financing for Development commitments. But despite the continued drain on economic development caused by illicit financial flows—and repeated scandals exposing financial secrecy— the week’s outcome document falls woefully short.

“The final document seems to relegate the UNECA High Level Panel Report on Illicit Financial Flows to a mere footnote,” said Jason Braganza, Deputy Executive Director of Tax Justice Network – Africa. “This report is the most definitive work on the issue to ever come out of the UN, yet member states can’t even officially welcome its findings.”

The Financing for Development Forum aims to address the estimated $2.5 trillion financing gap to pay for the world’s development goals over the next 15 years, known as the Sustainable Development Goals.

“We agreed on a universal agenda when deciding the SDGs, but curiously we don’t have universal membership in the tax bodies that are critical to address tax abuse in the UN context,” said Matti Kohonen, Private Sector Principal Advisor of Christian Aid.

Despite repeated calls from several countries, and larger regional blocs including the G77+China, member states failed to call for the upgrading of the UN Tax Committee to a full intergovernmental body.

“We’ve seen this movie play out before: the few seem to outweigh the wishes of the many,” said Pooja Rangaprasad, Policy Coordinator for the Financial Transparency Coalition. “Despite the opportunity to rethink who is really making the rules, we’re still left with a situation where most countries are on the outside looking in.”

We are a pioneering global network of organizations working on illicit financial flows. We use our wide reach and expertise to influence global norms and standards for financial transparency, and close loopholes in the global financial system. We seek to curtail illicit financial flows through the promotion of a transparent, accountable and sustainable financial system that works for everyone.